The company behind a proposed 48-bed substance abuse detoxification center at the former Bay State School of Technology property on Turnpike Street has filed a formal appeal of a recent building commissioner’s ruling and is moving forward with plans to open the facility, according to Canton zoning attorney Paul Schneiders.

“Yes, we are moving forward with it and we have filed an appeal,” confirmed Schneiders, who represents the applicant. “We do believe that it meets the definition of a ‘convalescent’ facility, and we have a bylaw that specifically allows convalescent homes in a business zone — and this is a business zone.”

Schneiders had previously sought a determination from building commissioner Ed Walsh regarding the proposed use of the property, and Walsh determined that such a facility would not be permissible, citing inconsistencies in the definitions of a “nursing or convalescent home” per town bylaws and a Medically Monitored Inpatient Detoxification (MMID) facility as defined by state regulations. The matter will now go before the Zoning Board of Appeals and a hearing date has been set for Thursday, March 22.

While Schneiders firmly believes that his clients have the law on their side, he also understands why residents may be concerned, especially given the site’s proximity to several residential dwellings, including director abutters on Russell Street on the westerly side and Turnpike Street to the north.

“It’s unfortunate and I completely understand the neighbors’ concerns,” said Schneiders, “but this happens all the time when one zone ends and another begins.”

Just as importantly, he said, is the fact that detox beds are “severely needed” across the commonwealth, especially in light of the ongoing opioid crisis.

“If you were to ask anyone in Canton if we should be addressing this crisis, every single person would say yes,” said Schneiders. “But facilities such as these have to be somewhere. We can’t just say. ‘It’s got to be someplace else; it’s got to be in some other town.”

Schneiders was also quick to dispel a rumor that has been widely circulating on social media sites — that his client was planning to open a “methadone clinic.” Whereas that term is typically used to describe facilities that dispense methadone — usually daily — to opioid-addicted patients in an outpatient setting, Schneiders said the facility his client is proposing would be more akin to a hospital.

“It’s a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week nursing and medical facility to address drug addiction and alcoholism,” he said. “It’s not a methadone clinic and it never was a methadone clinic. And it will be tightly regulated.”

Jack Maroney, who was brought on as a technical advisor to assist with the licensing of the proposed facility, stressed that the building would be fully staffed by professionals at all times and there would be no “walk-in” services provided. He added that there would be video monitoring “all over the facility” and barriers would be constructed around the property.

“In terms of visibility, it’s going to be really innocuous,” said Maroney, who has nearly three decades of experience in the substance abuse treatment field. “We want to manage the people that we serve in a way that we can maximize the environment, and we want to create an environment that’s conducive to wellness.”

Maroney said he too understands why a neighboring resident might have concerns, but he is confident that people’s fears will be alleviated once they have more information about the facility.

“I’m hoping that reason prevails and that we can come to a reasonable compromise about how to best serve these people and the community at large,” he said.

To date, reaction to the facility on social media sites has been mixed, with opinions ranging from fierce opposition to passionate support. Many commenters on the Everything Canton Facebook group have expressed concerns about the facility’s proximity to homes and businesses, while some have indicated a preference that it be built in a community other than Canton.

Sonja Grauds, who is not a direct abutter but lives relatively close to the site of the proposed facility, is among those who are reserving full judgment until she receives more information and attends the appeal hearing. Grauds said the location does not appear to be ideal for such a use and said she would likely be opposed to the proposal if a variance is required.

“Basically I am typically against variances for businesses in residentially zoned areas because I don’t like the precedent they set,” she explained in an email. “You should be able to buy a house and be fairly confident that your property won’t be encroached on by non-houses that will impact your property’s value in ways that are unpredictable, especially when Canton has plenty of empty buildings in business zones all over town that should be the focus of economic development.”

Grauds also questioned the applicant’s interpretation of the facility as a “convalescent/nursing home,” noting that there are “major differences between these types of care facilities and a detox.”

At the same time, she recognizes the need for such facilities and does not believe that a detox should be “off the table in Canton.”

“It can’t be all other towns’ responsibility,” she said. “I think if one is to be opened, it should go in an appropriate place, and more consideration should be given to where that might be.”

The March 22 appeal hearing will take place in the Salah Meeting Room at Town Hall beginning at 7 p.m. To read the full text of the building commissioner’s letter, go to town.canton.ma.us/documentcenter/view/3371.

]]>BOS to halt work at Pequitside pending reviewhttp://www.thecantoncitizen.com/2018/02/09/selectmen-news-93/
Sat, 10 Feb 2018 02:23:46 +0000http://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=38141Selectmen on Tuesday night announced the creation of a Pequitside Farm Task Force that will be made up of town officials as well as one or two abutters to the property. Selectmen asked that all construction at the site be halted until the task force can meet and discuss the planned renovations to the town-owned property, which include access and parking upgrades.

The creation of the task force came about when residents of Pleasant and Sumner streets and other neighboring streets complained to selectmen that they had not been properly informed of the planned removal of the tennis courts at Pequitside Farm.

The nine-member task force will include Selectman Tom Theodore, a member of the Conservation Commission, a member of the Recreation Commission, a public safety official, a member of the Open Space Committee, a member of the Historical Commission, a CHS Athletics Department representative, and Conservation Agent Cynthia O’Connell, in addition to one or two residents from adjoining streets.

In a related matter, selectmen voted to deem the historic David Tilden House at Pequitside Farm as surplus property, thereby allowing the house to be leased by a third party for a period of up to 30 years. The organization that leases the property would then renovate the house before turning it back over to the town. Pending approval at the May town meeting, a request for proposals (RFP) will be issued. Town Administrator Charlie Aspinwall said there is $347,000 remaining from a previous town meeting appropriation to pay for the repairs …

See this week’s Canton Citizen to read the full version of this story. Not a subscriber? Click here to order your subscription today (also available in digital form).

]]>TreeTop relocation plan zips through town boardshttp://www.thecantoncitizen.com/2018/01/27/treetop-relocation/
Sat, 27 Jan 2018 13:32:12 +0000http://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=38034TreeTop Adventures — the Canton-based outdoor zip-line park that has delighted patrons but rankled many of its closest neighbors — has been given the chance to start anew after the town’s zoning board voted unanimously last week to approve the park’s relocation plans.

A young climber traverses a course at TreeTop Adventures. (Michelle Stark photo)

With the approval, which includes an affirmative vote for the site plan as well as special permits for a recreational use, signage, and use of an office trailer, the park has now been cleared to move from its current location off Ward Well Road to the main campus of the Irish Cultural Centre at 200 New Boston Drive — a distance of several hundred feet.

The original site was also on land owned by the ICC but was later found to be improperly zoned and the park was ordered to cease operations. Rather than press on with an appeal, TreeTop owners Topher and Molly Kerr elected instead to redesign and reconstruct the park on a new site further away from the affected neighbors. Their goal in doing so was to minimize or eliminate entirely the impacts to the abutters while remaining in Canton on a site that they believe is ideal for a ropes course/zipline use.

In an email following the recent ZBA decision, Molly Kerr said that they are thrilled to be staying in Canton on the ICC campus. “It’s been a great location for us and is a place where families come to have fun,” she said. “We look forward to welcoming our climbers back to TreeTop this spring, and will be adding some great new elements and more zip-lines for our 2018 season.”

The new park will utilize some of the same design elements and offer the same number of trails as the original course. However, instead of being bunched together in a “nest” formation, Topher said the new park will be more spread out and designed around three different “pods.” There will also be longer and more zip-lines, including some that will travel over the main ICC parking lot.

For both the Kerrs and the ICC leadership, a newly built park also means a rare second chance to make a good first impression — and the response thus far from town officials has been overwhelmingly positive.

ZBA member Greg Pando, who served as chairman for TreeTop’s site plan review, was particularly effusive in his praise for the applicants during last week’s hearing, noting that he was pleased with the new location as well as the level of detail provided by the Kerrs and their team of experts. Even the zoning issues with the original park, Pando said, were a case of “bad things happening to good people.” (Many residents, including those most affected by the original park, blame the Kerrs’ previous engineer, former Canton conservation agent Robert Murphy, for submitting incomplete plans while others fault the town officials for a lack of oversight.)

With regard to the latest proposal, Pando said the applicants clearly did their homework and he expressed full confidence that TreeTop would “continue to be a good partner to the Canton community.”

“It’s very rare when you’re allowed a mulligan and you hit a hole-in-one,” he said, “but from my standpoint and professional opinion, in terms of the work that has been put in and the studies and research and the compliance with the performance standards as well as the quality of the engineering submission, they are absolutely of the highest quality. So from my standpoint I’m very happy to support the current iteration.”

ZBA member John McCourt, who had previously expressed concerns with the original park’s location and had spoken up on behalf of the affected neighbors, also voiced his support for the new proposal. “I’ve been up to this area personally and walked around and this is quite an improvement and it has been presented very well,” he said. “Last Friday the ICC and TreeTop did a presentation [for the neighbors]. It was a small crew there, but there were abutters, there were concerned people, and I believe most or all of the questions … were answered quite well and I believe this is definitely going in the right direction.”

In addition to the favorable response from the ZBA, the latest proposal also received unanimous approval from the Conservation Commission as well as a unanimous recommendation from the Planning Board. The ConCom, which issued an order of conditions, was impressed with the applicant’s ability to preserve the surrounding wetlands. The Planning Board did attach a few conditions to its approval and the applicant satisfied each of them, including completion of a lighting analysis, addition of signage to direct truck traffic away from the park and warn motorists of zip-lines overhead, and an agreement to install permanent wiring within a reasonable timeframe so as not to rely on generators on a permanent basis.

At last week’s ZBA hearing, the reaction from the residents who spoke about the project were also generally positive, with a few of the neighbors specifically praising Topher and Molly Kerr as responsible and committed business owners.

One resident, Tom Lyman of Pleasant Street, did voice some concern about the hours of operation and requested that the board implement a firm closing time of 7 or 7:30 p.m. during the summer months.

The board, however, elected to approve the hours of operation as proposed, which calls for 9:30 p.m. closing times on Fridays and Saturdays during June, July and August. Pando said those times seemed reasonable; however, the board indicated as part of its approval that it reserved the right to scale back the hours of operation if necessary. “If it proves there are issues I know the Kerrs are good neighbors in the town and would be willing to make accommodations,” said Pando.

]]>Town to warn Rez skaters while mulling winter useshttp://www.thecantoncitizen.com/2018/01/27/selectmen-news-92/
Sat, 27 Jan 2018 11:32:28 +0000http://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=38038Town Administrator Charlie Aspinwall will be working with town departments to post at least four signs near Reservoir Pond to warn skaters that the ice may be thin and that they are “skating at their own risk.”

The signs are the first indication that selectmen are considering opening Reservoir Pond for winter use.

Still up for discussion at a future public hearing are whether to open the Pleasant Street gate to the Earl Newhouse Waterfront on a year-round basis from sunrise to sunset; whether to plow the Newhouse parking area in winter; and whether to allow or prohibit ski mobiles.

All of these considerations were proposed by Selectman Tom Theodore, who has taken an active stance on the possibility of opening Reservoir Pond year-round since the town now owns the waterway. “It’s obvious to me people want it,” he said of all-season use.

Theodore believes that the gate to the Newhouse Waterfront should be opened and plowed so that families can use the pond for skating. He would rather see the gate plowed than require people to cross Pleasant Street from the Williams Estate parking areas.

Aspinwall had previously met with officials from the Fire and Police departments, DPW, Parks & Recreation, and Conservation Committee and he relayed some of their safety, operational, and enforcement concerns to selectmen on Tuesday night.

Selectmen were mixed in their reaction to Theodore’s suggestion and offered to hold a public hearing to gather more input and come up with a more definitive plan for changing rules and regulations concerning possible winter uses. All agreed that the safety signs should be installed as soon as possible …

See this week’s Canton Citizen to read the full version of this story. Not a subscriber? Click here to order your subscription today (also available in digital form).

]]>Ice House pulls liquor license request amid oppositionhttp://www.thecantoncitizen.com/2018/01/12/selectmen-news-ice-house/
Sat, 13 Jan 2018 01:37:12 +0000http://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=37935The owners of the Canton Ice House withdrew an application for an all-alcohol restaurant license just hours before a scheduled hearing with the Board of Selectmen earlier this week after receiving several letters of opposition from various town officials.

Selectmen opened the public hearing on the license at Tuesday night’s meeting, at which point Paul Schneiders, representing the Canton Ice House, informed the board of his clients’ intent to withdraw the application.

Ice House owners William Dadasis, Charles Giacchetto and Matthew Dimock wrote to selectmen, “Given the tone and content of the letters, we do not wish to put the board in a very awkward position and we therefore withdraw our application.”

The owners recounted their efforts to get their facility up and running soon after the Metropolis Ice Rink collapsed in 2015. They also noted that they continue to offer discount rates for Canton Youth Hockey and Canton High School while also providing two coaches’ offices and two custom locker rooms free of charge for the high school teams.

The owners said they hoped that the license could have helped offset a current financial deficit with additional revenues. “The three of us are extremely disappointed that these town officials have such strong opposition to our application, which we feel is a completely reasonable proposal with substantial precedent,” they wrote. “We are not sure how best to proceed going forward.”

Police Chief Ken Berkowitz and Fire Chief Charles Doody both spoke at the hearing and agreed that an alcohol license does not mix with youth hockey.

“I agree this group stepped up big time when there was a need,” said Doody. “But as a public safety [official], I can’t support this.”

Berkowitz said he wished the full hearing had been held so he could have heard both sides of the issue.

Resident Stephen Hagan of Will Drive also spoke at the meeting and voiced his opposition to the license proposal, noting that he could not support a liquor license in a venue where young hockey players are playing. He also asked the town to have police step up enforcement of the stop signs for motorists exiting the ice rink off Will Drive …

See this week’s print edition for more highlights from the January 9 selectmen’s meeting. Not a subscriber? Click here to order your subscription today (also available in digital form).

The town faces a deadline if it wants to use its insurance proceeds to fix Metropolis Rink. (Moira Sweetland photo)

The fate of Canton’s beloved Metropolis Skating Rink on Route 138 remains firmly in town hands, but the clock is ticking as the town faces a February 2019 deadline to begin rehabbing or rebuilding the shuttered facility or risk losing its insurance proceeds.

Severely damaged when the roof collapsed during a morning youth hockey practice in February 2015, the rink has been out of commission ever since, and progress toward a rebuild has advanced at a snail’s pace — held up by a lengthy insurance investigation and an equally drawn-out state review process.

The latest delay stems from the state’s decision to cancel its own feasibility study, which was launched more than a year ago with the goal of analyzing operational scenarios and ultimately determining the best location for a new regional skating facility. The state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), which leases Metropolis to the town, announced the study in the fall of 2016 and had identified four possible sites — three in Canton and one in Norwood — before scrapping the effort due to a lack of funding and foisting the rebuild back onto Canton’s shoulders.

By the summer of 2017, Selectmen Chairman John Connolly had made it clear that Canton was in the “driver’s seat” with regard to the rink but they were not to expect any state money for the foreseeable future.

Now with a little over a year remaining before the insurance company’s deadline, the town must act fast if it wants to use the more than $4 million it has received to date. Specifically, the town must have a construction firm under contract and be ready to commence construction on the rink by February 28, 2019.

According to Town Administrator Charlie Aspinwall, officials intend to submit a placeholder article onto the May town meeting warrant requesting additional town funds (if needed) and overall project approval. If additional funds are in fact needed, Aspinwall said the town could increase its claim amount with the insurance company. He said the most recent cost estimate he has received on the rink renovations is around $3.2 million.

Because of the magnitude of the capital costs, the project has been placed under the purview of the Building Renovation Committee (BRC). The town was also required to hire an owner’s project manager (OPM) to assist with overall project planning and has selected Marlborough-based Construction Monitoring Services Inc. (CMS).

The next step for the town is procurement of design services, which is a two-phase process …

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]]>Town revises ’18 ballot after school board resignationhttp://www.thecantoncitizen.com/2018/01/05/town-revises-ballot/
Sat, 06 Jan 2018 02:43:35 +0000http://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=37893Another elected office will be up for grabs in the upcoming April town election following the surprise resignation of veteran School Committee member John Bonnanzio last week.

Bonnanzio, who has served the board for a total of 12 years across two separate stints, tendered his resignation in a letter to the town clerk’s office dated December 29. He plans to step down on April 2, the day before the 2018 town election.

Bonnanzio, in his resignation letter, said he was announcing his plans now in order to give other residents the opportunity to run for the remaining two years of his three-year term. “It is my earnest hope,” he wrote, “that the seat I have held will be filled by an individual whose own passions, commitment and respect for the Canton Public Schools, its students, teachers, administrators and support staff exceed my own.”

With the addition of Bonnanzio’s seat, there will now be two School Committee spots on the April ballot, including a full three-year term currently held by Kristin Mirliani. Nomination papers for all open offices will be available in the town clerk’s office beginning Monday, January 8, with a final pick-up deadline of Friday, February 9. The deadline to return papers is Tuesday, February 13, at 7 p.m.

Bonnanzio, who was reelected last April, stated in an email that his decision to resign was made “after many conversations, much thought, and even a few tears.” He noted that he will be marrying his fiancée, Sally Wade, in August and they plan to move out of Canton.

“I will always be deeply grateful to the town’s residents for having had the opportunity to serve them (and the many thousands of students along the way — including my own four children) since my first election in 2002,” he wrote in his resignation letter. “Finally, I offer my best wishes and continued success to my town, and to the public schools that have served my family so thoughtfully and faithfully through the years.”

A leading voice on the School Committee over the past decade-plus, Bonnanzio has served multiple stints as chairman, most recently from 2016 to 2017. He was instrumental in securing an operational override in 2008 that helped to restore town services and was heavily involved in negotiations with the developers of the Plymouth Rubber property. He also represented the schools’ interests on the building use committee for the Paul Revere Heritage Site and successfully brokered a deal with Revere Copper Products Inc. to supply copper for the new roof on the historic Revere rolling mill.

While his future plans are unclear at this time, Bonnanzio has long shown an interest in politics and previously ran for state representative as the Republican challenger to Rep. Bill Galvin in 2004. He also made a run at a selectmen’s seat in 2015 but returned to his School Committee post after coming up short in a crowded field of candidates.

A native New Yorker, Bonnanzio has a degree from Fordham University and is the editor of Fidelity Monitor & Insight. His youngest child, Geoffrey, is due to graduate from CHS this spring.

Supporters hold political signs during the April 2017 town election. (Michelle Stark photo)

The following is an excerpt from the Canton Citizen’s 2017 year in review. Check out this week’s paper for a look back at some of the other top stories of 2017, including corruption scandals with Canton ties, CAASA’s substance abuse prevention efforts, and much more.

Voters opt for fresh faces in memorable town election

After a lackluster 2016 town election season, the drama returned in 2017 with a competitive four-way selectmen’s race that was as fascinating as it was unpredictable. The race kicked off shortly after the New Year with Selectmen Chairman Bob Burr’s surprise announcement that he would not be seeking another term, prompting a flood of prospective challengers to pull nomination papers. At one point, there were as many as seven potential candidates for two open seats, headlined by multi-term incumbent Victor Del Vecchio, who was widely viewed as the favorite to retain his seat. There was even a bit of family intrigue as Planning Board Chairman Jeremy Comeau jumped into the race while older brother Jonathan Comeau, who had announced his intention to run several months prior and had developed a significant following on social media, chose to withdraw his name from consideration. In the end, however, it was the two fresh faces in the race — Chris Connolly and Tom Theodore — who captured the attention of the electorate, with Connolly carrying four of six precincts and finishing as the overall winner and Theodore, who had never held elected office, prevailing in the other two precincts and nabbing the second seat.

Schools embrace landmark reorganization plan

After conducting a previous in-house study of school building space needs and embarking on a lengthy and mostly fruitless search for a new central administration building, Canton school officials turned to the experts at Dore & Whittier Architects to put together a brand-new facilities master plan — and the final product, approved in September after an extensive public study process, outlines a bold new vision that could reshape the entire district for generations to come. At the core of the new plan is a grade reorganization proposal that would move pre-kindergarteners to the elementary schools, fifth graders (and all central office staff) to the middle school, and eighth graders to a new separate academy in the Rodman building. The plan also calls for major renovations to the Rodman and Galvin schools, the addition of modular classrooms at all three elementary schools, and future building upgrades at the elementary and high schools. The School Committee voted 5-0 in favor of the proposal and also set forth an initial seven-year plan that comes with an estimated price tag of $214 million — minus a potential sizeable reimbursement from the Mass. School Building Authority.

TreeTop zoning dispute boils over

What started as a one-man battle over the location of an outdoor zip-line park transformed into a bitter and complicated zoning controversy that seemed to produce far more losers than winners. Although popular with patrons, the newly built TreeTop Adventures park had become a sore spot for the residents of Ward Well Road, and at the repeated urging of nearest abutter Ed Tasi, the town agreed to look into their concerns. By July, Canton Building Commissioner Ed Walsh had concluded that TreeTop was improperly sited on a residentially zoned parcel owned by the Irish Cultural Centre, and he issued a cease-and-desist order to the park’s owners, who denied any prior knowledge of the zoning discrepancy and promptly filed an appeal with the zoning board. During the appeal hearings, many residents laid the blame on the project’s engineer, former Canton Conservation Agent Robert Murphy, for submitting incomplete and possibly deceptive plans, while others faulted the town for what they argued was a stunning lack of oversight. In the end, the neighbors got their wish as TreeTop’s owners announced plans to tear down the park and move it to the main ICC campus, pending town approval. Still, the entire ordeal was not without its costs, both in terms of dollars spent by multiple parties — including substantial legal fees incurred by Tasi — and the trust that was lost between neighbors and the town …

Check out this week’s print edition for an in-depth look at the past year in Canton news, sports, and more. Not a subscriber? Click here to order your subscription today (also available in digital form).

]]>Recreation in focus with FY 2019 CPA projectshttp://www.thecantoncitizen.com/2017/12/30/cpa-fy19/
Sat, 30 Dec 2017 16:22:49 +0000http://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=37858Four separate recreation projects, a series of infrastructure improvements at the Paul Revere Heritage Park, and additional upgrades at the Rubin Court housing complex will all be in line for some form of Community Preservation Act funding in FY 2019 in what is shaping up to be another strong year for CPA spending in Canton.

At its meeting held earlier this month, the eight-member CCPC voted to recommend funding the six aforementioned projects for a total cost of $1.078 million. Last year’s batch of CPA projects also exceeded $1 million in funding, although one of this year’s big-ticket items — $311,000 for the Revere Heritage upgrades — would be bonded over a 10-year period pending final approval at the May town meeting.

Now in its fifth year in Canton following a successful ballot initiative in 2012, the Community Preservation Act is an optional state statute that enables participating cities and towns to set aside funds for the preservation of open space, historical resources, community housing, and outdoor recreation. Funds are raised locally through a surcharge on property tax bills — 1 percent in Canton’s case — and matched annually at a certain percentage through a statewide CPA trust.

In addition to administering the CPA program and managing the budget, the CCPC is tasked with reviewing all project proposals and making spending recommendations that align with the town’s Community Preservation Plan. The ultimate decision, however, rests with the town meeting voters, who can opt to approve, reject, or reduce — but not increase — the suggested expenditures by a majority vote.

Over the past few years, CPA monies have been used to finance more than two dozen community projects, including the renovation of the Canton High School tennis courts, restoration of the Civil War “Infantryman” statue in front of Canton Town Hall, and installation of a new copper roof on the historic rolling mill building at the Paul Revere Heritage Site.

The latest crop of spending recommendations, according to CCPC Chairman Lisa Lopez, address several more worthwhile projects that might not have otherwise made it through the regular municipal budget process.

“There continues to be positive trends for CPA and we’re able to use state monies to help leverage our resources here in Canton,” said Lopez. “I believe that even the naysayers now believe that [the CPA] has been a very positive program for many, many different constituencies in town.”

Among those constituencies that stand to benefit from the program in the coming fiscal year is the Parks and Recreation Department, which received a positive recommendation from the CCPC for two proposed projects: resurfacing and deck replacement at the Bolivar town pool ($300,000) and replacement of the Ponkapoag playground ($63,500).

The latter project is part of an ongoing program to replace the town’s aging playground equipment and comes on the heels of similar replacement projects at the Devoll and Tilden playgrounds, which were both approved for CPA funding in FY18. Lopez said that while the Recreation Department is currently conducting a comprehensive study of all of the town’s outdoor recreation facilities, those three playgrounds were deemed to be in such poor shape that they had become a safety concern and necessitated immediate upgrades.

“They felt that they just couldn’t wait,” she said, “and they are 100 percent confident that the study would rank these highly in terms of overall need.”

Also in the area of outdoor recreation, the CCPC approved the remaining portion of funding for the construction of restrooms and storage space at the JFK playing fields — a project spearheaded by Canton Little League with input and involvement from the town.

Plans call for the construction of a 1,200-square-foot restroom and concessions facility that would be located between Sullivan and Crawford fields behind the JFK School. A portion of the project costs — specifically with regard to the concession area — is not eligible for CPA funding and is being funded through private donations. The restroom component, however, was awarded partial CPA funding last year and recently received a positive recommendation from the CCPC to cover the balance of the costs ($173,500).

The fourth and final recreation project approved for funding was a request from the School Department to install lights at Walsh Field at a cost of $150,000. The field is located on the lower level of the CHS athletics campus and is used by several community programs, including Canton Little League, CHS softball, CHS freshman football, and the Canton Women’s Softball League.

School officials had also submitted an application for CPA funding to renovate the elementary school playgrounds, but they elected to withdraw the request at the CCPC hearing earlier this month. Lopez said school officials determined that they were not far enough along in their planning to move forward with the request at this time.

Regarding the Paul Revere Heritage Site improvements, Lopez said there are two components, both of which fall under the category of open space: installation of an irrigation system on the soon-to-be acquired public green, and installation of underground electrical conduit to accommodate future lighting needs along the diversion channel that winds around the site.

Lopez, who also heads up the PRHS Open Space Committee, said the costs for the upgrades, if approved, would be rolled in to the cost of acquiring the roughly seven acres of parkland that the developer has agreed to sell to the town. The land acquisition, which was approved in 2015, is estimated to cost $1.75 million and that figure, plus the $311,000 for the infrastructure upgrades, would be financed over a 10-year period and repaid using CPA monies.

The other project recommended for funding in FY19 was in the area of community housing and is for replacement of bathroom fans in some of the residential units at Rubin Court at a cost of $80,000. The Canton Housing Authority was approved for the same request last year, and this year’s allotment, if approved, would complete the two-phase project.

In addition to issuing six project approvals, the CCPC did vote to reject one request, which involved a plan by the Conservation Commission to remove the tennis courts at Pequitside Farm. The town-owned property is the subject of an ongoing master plan review by an outside consulting firm, which is looking at ways to improve parking and access at the site while possibly expanding its uses. Lopez said the CCPC determined that the tennis court removal would not be the best use of CPA funds as it involved the “elimination of recreation without a plan to create new recreation opportunities.”

]]>Town Clerk announces town election deadlineshttp://www.thecantoncitizen.com/2017/12/30/town-election-deadlines-2/
Sat, 30 Dec 2017 15:23:53 +0000http://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=37863Town Clerk Tracy Kenney has announced that nomination papers for the 2018 annual town election, to be held on April 3, will be available in the Town Clerk’s office beginning Monday, January 8, at 9 a.m. The deadline to obtain nomination papers is Friday, February 9, at 5 p.m.

Those seeking office in the election must obtain the signatures of at least 50 registered voters in the town of Canton. The deadline to file completed nomination papers with the Board of Registrars is Tuesday, February 13, at 7 p.m.